Part of the mystique surrounding vintage Smith and Wesson revolvers by collectors in this country appears to be the quality of their blued finish. My own personal definition of vintage, which may not have a consensus here, is prior to circa 1958 when S&W started using model numbers instead of names and began instituting their design and engineering changes often for economic reasons. Having just received the excellent 4th edition of the SCSW, I found no definition of "vintage" so I decide to make up my own.

Having previously wondered about Smith's bluing process, I researched this online. The best information came from this forum (no surprise there), although it took quite a while to assemble a cohesive picture from the many threads and posts.

Below is a synopsis of what I found. Please note that I cannot vouch for the veracity of this data, which I am sure many of you either know by heart, or have differing views as to the details.

During this "vintage era", their premium revolvers were highly polished by skilled craftsmen and all parts of each individual gun were blued together using Smith’s proprietary Carbonia oil / bone charcoal mixture in a gas furnace. After cooling the blued parts were immersed in whale oil, probably sperm whale oil (a modern day ethical violation?).

The Carbonia oil was a proprietary mixture of a pine-tar-like oil provided by the American Gas Furnace Company along with other ingredients, the formula for which is now lost to posterity. The heating temperatures and durations are also not precisely known.

All parts of given revolver were blued together at the same time.

This method produced an exceptional and consistent finish.

S&W made their own huge polishing wheels out of walrus hide and wood (imaging the outcry if that practice was pursued today).

After 1958, parts were (over time) polished less highly and the parts of the guns were blued separately: the frames in one batch, another batch for the cylinders, barrels in a separate batch, etc.). Consistency of the blue using this approach was not quite optimal.

The excellent Carbonia bluing process was abandoned in 1978.

All this is a preamble to The Real Question: When, if ever, should a vintage S&W revolver be refinished? Some folks consider such a notion total anathema, never to be contemplated. Others are of the opinion that if the piece is a real beater of little relative value, then little is lost (either monetarily or historically) by re-bluing the gun in as period correct a manner as possible.

Incidetally, S&W told me over the phone last week that they will no longer re-finish any firearm manufactured prior to 1960. The reason given was, to paraphrase, "because of the unavailability of replacement parts and changes to 'manufacturing processes'".

My dilemma is with a revolver which lies somewhere in the middle. It is my newly acquired 1957 Pre-Model 29 .44 Magnum: CLICK HERE FOR THIS RECENT THREAD. The polish of the metal is mostly really good, with some bluing wear at the muzzle and on the cylinder, and there are no dings or significant scratches. However, the bluing has a few blemishes to the color and there are a couple of tiny rust spots hidden under the stocks. This is a $1100 gun.

My initial feeling is that I should simply mitigate the hidden rust with careful application of extra fine 0000 steel wool and light machine oil, then thoroughly but gently clean the blued surfaces and perhaps apply Renaissance wax. However, am open to all opinions on what you guys believe is the best way to proceed.

Hello Mr. 45, please no steel wool or re-finish, an oily cotton rag and a little rubbing. Others will follow with suggestions of polish and wax, yea go ahead. Dont make it a gun that use to be original. Best

Almost everyone on this forum will tell you to leave it as is ,and for good reason.However if bringing back the gun to perfect condition finish wise will make you cherish this gun even more, then you should do so.At this point you should send it off to Ford's refinishing in Fl.

I've had a couple guns reblued and otherwise "refinished" over the years. Have never been satisfied with the results and have generally been sorry that I had it done. Never sent one to Ford's though, so maybe that would have a different (although costlier) result. I too have a pre 29 with a little blue wear but there's no way it is going out for a reblue. Good luck.

I wouldn't consider it unless the blueing is less than 25%. A cheap refinish will make the gun worth less. An expensive refinish might bring the value of the gun up a little but the money you spent on the refinish will basically be wasted if viewed as an investment.

The refinish or no refinish debate has been discussed here ad nauseam.

The bottom line is that it is your gun and therefore your choice. If you are looking for help to make your decision I would offer the following.

If you are doing it for yourself and cost is not an issue then there is no decision to make.

If you are doing it with hopes that the guns value will increase with a new paint job, then there are 2 answers.

Purist collectors won't touch the gun in most instances.

Shooters and non purist collectors won't mind or will maybe only take a small deduction for the refinish.

So basically that is it.

As for steel wool, NEVER use it on a gun. It is too harsh and steel rusts. When steel wool is used it tends to leave small particles behind and little particles of rusting steel are not what you want on your blue finish. I don't even like brass or copper wool unless the rust is very thick.

Try a rag with oil and rub the rust flecks gently. A finger nail works well with oil also. Remember that bluing finish on a gun is a form of rusting and is only skin deep. This is why a leather holster is able to remove the bluing from the tip of the barrel.

Over rubbing of any manner will remove the bluing. So good luck and make sure to post before and after photos. We all love gun porn.

I would recommend in your endeavor to remove the minor rust to use bronze wool as opposed to steel wool. It takes additional effort but is less aggressive. I have ordered it from Amazon. com in the past, but there are probably other sources.

The days are long gone where S&W would "refurbish" (meaning restore to "as new" condition) which ceased sometime in the 1970s as far as I could trace. Even in the 1970's S&W's in house work on older guns started to get sloppy, likely because of the WWII Craftsmen, retiring out, which is my opinion alone with no supporting facts other than my 30 years of collecting old S&W's.

Shortly after S&W stopped repairing and / or refurbishing older guns they excllusively referred Dave Chicoine, who (unfortunately) can no longer do these restorations or Charles Duffy ... a master gunsmith "par excellence" who's standard refinish was someone else's restoration. Sadly, Charles Duffy passed on a few years back.

Over the years I have never passed a nice deal on a S&W "Factory" refurbished Model 3 which strongly depended upon "when" the repair or refurbish was done (prior to the 1970s, OK. 1960s better, 1950s and back even better than that). Further, the examination of the refinished or refurbished piece to determine if there had been excessive pitting or was in excellent conditions prior to the repair / refurbish .... actually examining the gun "through" the repair / refinish / refurbishment.

Factory S&W refurbished guns usually hold a higher regard and respect by collectors than others that were repaired or refinished by some unknown.

Purists of the time, would not even consider a refinished "collectible" gun while the going trend seems to show a wider approval for S&W Factory repaired / refinished / refurbished guns.

Some older collectors and gun owners would simply send their favorite baby to the factory for a refinish if she started to show thinning blue, SOLELY with the highest regards and respect to keep their cherished S&Ws in fine tune and maintenance. Back then many of those guns had not yet become "collectible" or scarce.

The choice is yours alone.

But, as they Knight in Guard of the Holy Grail would advise: "Choose wisely".

1. "Vintage" often is used as a generic term. So it's like saying my barrel is inches long, it's meaningless w/o specificity.

So one must specify the vintage one is referring to. You picked pre 1958 vintage. That's good and clear to anyone.

2. It's too easy to generalize the finish over a long period of time but not accurately because over your chosen vintage period, the finish/process changed several times, can be different by model, and particularly for the 10 years following each world war when the satin finish was standard unless special ordered.

3. I would never get a 're-blue or refinish' and that's not what you want. You actually want a "finish restoration" which also implies factory matching prep and polishing techniques. That's a big difference! To do or not is a personal decision but if you do, forget about collector value, period.

And yes Ford's is considered excellent by most, you must specify the finish you want and price will be commensurate with your choice.

Lets consider the statement that it is your gun, do what you want. Really.
We are the custodians, assigned to care for them, we are not suppose to screw them up for future owners. I sell and trade like all of us. The good stuff goes to my two boys. Re-fins and diddled with guns bring me no joy.
There are no more artisans. They are gone. Best

One minor, yet very significant addition to your excellent description of the finishing process----very significant because it accounts for S&W's heretofore excellent polishing: The leather polishing wheels were formed----formed to fit (exactly) the particular surface at hand----flat/round/concave/convex----you name it, they had it (with back-up).

If you browse around in older issues of the Gun Digest(??) (late 50's-early 60's is my best recollection/guess) you will find a pictorial essay of S&W's manufacturing process---start to finish. Therein you will find at least one, if not several photos of these polishing wheels-----gazillions of them piled high on racks.

Bottom Line: If you have a surface on ANY S&W (from back in the good old days) they had a wheel (or six or eight) to fit it----exactly. And given even a cursory examination of any high condition older gun, you will come to believe the lads knew how to use them----AND took great pride in their work.

Them there was the good old days----------long gone, but not forgotten----simply lamented.

Ralph Tremaine

Given an unwise, yet overwhelming desire to have your gun refinished, send it to Fords. The primary reason is because they polish by hand---and the results are spectacular. Your gun will not look as it did when it came out of the box----it'll be better (very noticeable higher polish, slightly darker color). Their "Master Blue" is what you're after. Your instructions to them to produce these results go like this: Please assign this to your very best craftsman----and I don't care how much it costs. The bad news is you will never again be able to use this gun----it's too pretty------goes on the shelf----occasional fondling is permitted.

[*]During this "vintage era", their premium revolvers were highly polished by skilled craftsmen and all parts of each individual gun were blued together using Smith’s proprietary Carbonia oil / bone charcoal mixture in a gas furnace . . .

It is my newly acquired 1957 Pre-Model 29 .44 Magnum . . . The polish of the metal is mostly really good, with some bluing wear at the muzzle and on the cylinder, and there are no dings or significant scratches. However, the bluing has a few blemishes to the color and there are a couple of tiny rust spots hidden under the stocks. This is an $1100 gun . . .

As noted above, there were several different finishes for S&W revolvers in the Twentieth century, and not all "premium" S&Ws were gloss finished. Arguably, the finest revolvers ever made were the late 1940s & early 1950s were the Masterpiece line. They had a matte finish for several years.

My suggestion would be to sell that one to someone who will appreciate it as is. Take your sale money and what you would spend at Ford's and buy one in better condition that you would be happy with owning. In a decade you will be glad you have an original 44 Mag, since the value will continue to grow . . . unless it is refinished.

Fords. Fords. Fords. Are they the be all and end all re-fin guys?
I have seen a lot of their work, not impressed. I guess it is OK work, if that is what you want. If you want something better, go buy it.

If the blued finish is worn, but not rusted or damaged, it is possible to have it re-blued without polishing, and it turns out well, at least it has on the ones I have personally done that way. But I agree with everyone else in advising against any type of complete re-finishing for yours. Applying some cold blue on the worn areas won't hurt if it makes you feel better. But it's not a permanent fix.

To paraphrase one earlier posting, if you want a gun which looks like new, you should buy a new gun.

Lets consider the statement that it is your gun, do what you want. Really.
We are the custodians, assigned to care for them, we are not suppose to screw them up for future owners. I sell and trade like all of us. The good stuff goes to my two boys. Re-fins and diddled with guns bring me no joy.
There are no more artisans. They are gone. Best

I was going to say "that's a bit dramatic"...but just earlier today I posted that "every time somebody refinishes a pinned and recessed Smith, a puppy gets cancer." So, I am probably not in the best position to talk.

I always read these discussions with keen interest. I have a K32 that has considerable finish wear and a bubba ground front sight. I have a replacement sight, and have debated having this gun restored,. I have a K22 and. K38, both in very good condition, and I'd like the K32 to look the same. Now to those who say sell it and buy a better one, have you looked at K32 prices lately?. I have $1150 in my K32. If I spent $600 to have it restored, I have a hard time believing I couldn't sell that piece for $2000, when good original ones are selling for twice that .. I know it won't be original, but in the current condition, it will never be a true collector piece, now will it? And since selling it will be my son's concern, why do I care.

If I was confident I could get a Turnbull type restoration, I would do so. Based on some of the changes I've heard about at Ford's I'm not sure about using them. So for now, my K32 stays ugly.

I have done high polish knife blades. If there is a small scratch it doesn't polish out as much as polishing gives you a polished scratch. Polishing is really just high grit sanding. If your using 4000 grid polish it will take forever to remove a 400 grit scratch. Plus, it is very difficult to get a smooth even polish without slightly messing up the contour and making surface wavy. Power buffing also can kind of smear metal. The guys that do blades with differential HT and clay to develop a Hamon will not use a power buffer because it will blend the steel in the hamon area and it will never be as good as hand sanded to very high grit and hand buffed.

The guys who did the sanding and ran the buffers for S&W were highly skilled craftsmen on the same level or possibly a higher level than the guys who hand fit them.

I have one I struggle with. It is a 38/44 HD from 1936 that went to the Amsterdam, NY police department (from a Jinks letter).

Some previous owner thought it would look better if they stripped the blue off. They must have taken naval jelly or something and they stripped every bit of blue off of it. No marks or scratches - never been buffed. Really beautiful condition. But zero finish.

It's no longer original...and I am really tempted to have it reblued. It looks almost like it could be degreased and dropped in the tank.

It occurs to me those who have experienced unsatisfactory results from Fords have made an unwise detour along the way----cost consideration--and its inevitable consequences. Without belaboring the point unnecessarily, you get what you are willing to pay for.

It puts me in mind mind of my favorite engine builder during my somewhat adventurous youth. A very prominent sign in the shop area went something like this: SPEED COSTS MONEY---HOW FAST DO YOU WANT TO GO? (Actually it didn't go something like that, it went EXACTLY like that-----an object lesson for those at the back of the pack.)

And to definitely belabor the point, "You get what you pay for."

And to belabor another point, whoever opined the best way to make a silk purse from a sow's ear is to first sell the sow's ear, then save up the necessary extra funds to buy the silk purse is right on target-----works every time.

Ralph Tremaine

As an aside, I have never had a gun refinished by Fords (or anybody else besides two from the factory). I have seen several from Fords---both blue ("Master Blue") and nickel. They were, without exception, flawless. Some of those had been EXTENSIVELY "restored"----which is to say both some lettering AND the S&W logo had been re cut---flawlessly.

I have a pre-war KCPD non-registered Magnum from 1940. It was ruined when I found it from a previous re-blue and awful trigger job that left the gun with "push-off" and some other issues that made it unsafe to shoot. It was for all intents and purposes headed for the scrap yard. There are also only 1100 or so of them and that means very few are left. There is a difference between a "re-blue" and a restoration to factory condition. I opted to go for a full restoration to as nice a condition as possible.

I sent it off to Dave Chiccone, Old West Gunsmiths. He has since died and I think the company is out of business. He did a beautiful job with the gun and it looks like it did the day it left the factory. I replaced the Hogue grip with a proper set of Keith Brown stocks with original prewar medallions.

According to some folks here, I'm sure it is all but worthless, especially if they are offering to buy it. But, it is now alive and fully functional and back in it's original shape. I look at it as money well spent to save a piece of history.

The choice is up to you. If it is from the Custer battlefield or once owned by J.Edgar Hoover, then you might want to leave it in original condition. I made my choice based on the condition and history of the gun and it was worth it to me to save this gun from the scrap heap.

I've had three guns refinished by this firm in Glenrock WY. It's within a couple hours of my residence. They've done excellent work, but as someone noted, you get what you pay for and their top tier re-blue is spendy. One of the firearms they did for me was Model 15-6 with a lot of holster wear. I was very happy with the results, but it cost as much as the gun and I understand I will never recoup that investment.Glenrock Blue

I've had three guns refinished by this firm in Glenrock WY. It's within a couple hours of my residence. They've done excellent work, but as someone noted, you get what you pay for and their top tier re-blue is spendy. One of the firearms they did for me was Model 15-6 with a lot of holster wear. I was very happy with the results, but it cost as much as the gun and I understand I will never recoup that investment.Glenrock Blue

I'm impressed!!

That which impressed me the most is the price difference between Factory, Deluxe, and Master blue----knowing full well the difference has not the first thing to do with the bluing---but with the preparation. Clearly they know it too!!

Here's how to grade preparation: Some's good, more's better-----and too much is just right!! (Same goes for horsepower and money.)

Were I to consider a refinish, I would be more than comfortable shipping it off to these folks-----and I'll bet I wouldn't be disappointed.

I've had three guns refinished by this firm in Glenrock WY. It's within a couple hours of my residence. They've done excellent work, but as someone noted, you get what you pay for and their top tier re-blue is spendy. One of the firearms they did for me was Model 15-6 with a lot of holster wear. I was very happy with the results, but it cost as much as the gun and I understand I will never recoup that investment.Glenrock Blue

As a retired automotive restoration shop owner, the rule mostly applies as: " you get what you pay for" ... providing the shop is not a crook.

One less than perfect job from my shop would have put me out of business, while every perfect job out the door brought me 2 new customers and 10x the great verbal or "clique" approval of the major auto collectors.

I had turned down more jobs than I accepted, though. Once something is past the point of no return ... you must shock the owner into reality by refusing his money ... no matter how much he offers.

I have one I struggle with. It is a 38/44 HD from 1936 that went to the Amsterdam, NY police department (from a Jinks letter).

Some previous owner thought it would look better if they stripped the blue off. They must have taken naval jelly or something and they stripped every bit of blue off of it. No marks or scratches - never been buffed. Really beautiful condition. But zero finish.

It's no longer original...and I am really tempted to have it reblued. It looks almost like it could be degreased and dropped in the tank.

Ouch.....given what has been done to it, I'd probably nickel plate the gun and shoot the heck out of it....btw, is that a humpback hammer? If so, double ouch!!

Thanks, everyone, for the excellent feedback. You have taken of your time to respond to me, now I will return the favor.

gmborkovic, JSR III and lamarw: You’ve provided sound advice for dealing with the rust spots. Because those spots are hidden under the grips, my primary concern is not so much their total removal but rather preventing any further spreading. I’ll forgo the steel wool and use less aggressive methods.

model3sw: I appreciate your well-articulated perspective on this topic. Really good information there.

hondo44: Sounds like you totally get me. Excellent point about the variations to the finishes over time and across models as well.

My thinking has always been that were I to have this .44 re-blued it would have to be a “restoration” to as original a condition as currently possible, and I would be happy to pay the premium for that. That’s why my first choice was the S&W factory. As an aside, last year I had one of my Pythons restored by Colt, and the result was a finish identical to that of my other pristine original.

Fords and Glenrock have been on my radar for a few years now as a result of my interest in collecting custom 1911s. Both have solid reputations in that arena, but modern high-end 1911s aren’t vintage revolvers – there’s a heck of difference. I have had single action revolvers refinished by Turnbull in charcoal blue with case colors, but they are not specialists in high polish, bright blue double action revolver restorations.

I am a bit leery of a complete re-polish, unless performed by a consummate professional. I have seen total mirror finish bluing on 1911s from the likes of Baron, etc. While they were visually stunning, upon close inspection the sharp edges can easily be lost and the roll marks and stampings can be softened. I was thinking more along the lines of correcting any surface blemishes and then a period correct re-blue. I have learned here that there are problems and variables in trying to get that accomplished.

My goal is to have at least one really bitchin’ looking Pre-Model 29. I don’t mind paying the going rate for a 98+% one either, because that is the price of playing this game right now. I would also pay the fat premium to get a “factory original restoration”, if there were a shop that everyone agrees could guarantee me that.

A lot of you have made the point that if my gun were in worse condition than it is, then little would be lost, historically speaking, with a re-finish. But my .44 is not that bad ... and some of you are wrestling with this same conundrum.

As I re-read all of your advice (and it is all really good), there are now too many posts to respond to each one. I was just too slow! As I suspected, the opinions on whether or not to re-finish my vintage Pre-Model 29 have run the gamut from one end of the spectrum to the other - from “heaven forbid” to “if it will give you pleasure, go for it”.

But it is the detailed rationale behind your opinions, which most of you have provided, that has proven most valuable to me. What emerges from this discussion is a deeper level of understanding of the consequences of my taking either path.

I pick up the gun on Thursday. I am going to shoot it, off-hand and with my Ransom Rest, then tear it completely down and clean it up as best I can. We’ll see how it looks then. At this point, after absorbing your comments, I am reluctant to refinish it without much very considered thought.

I must say that I very much appreciate the helpfulness of this online community. Taken as a collective, there is a depth of experience, knowledge and consequent wisdom that would be difficult to duplicate in other venues. The level of maturity on this sub-forum I also find refreshing. So thanks again.
Charlie

The somewhat limited photo gallery on their website does not show any revolvers listed as being done with their Master Finish.

kbm6893: I share your sentiments exactly - I like good looking firearms and don't care if I don't get all of the return on investment of a re-finish. My dilemma is that my Pre-29 is probably a 90% gun.

The somewhat limited photo gallery on their website does not show any revolvers listed as being done with their Master Finish.

kbm6893: I share your sentiments exactly - I like good looking firearms and don't care if I don't get all of the return on investment of a re-finish. My dilemma is that my Pre-29 is probably a 90% gun.

I probably wouldn't have refinished a 90% gun. But it would depend on where the loss was.

Here is the thing. If you want your gun to be perfect so it can sit in a glass case and you can admire it, you'll be ogling a fraud. And others won't respect or admire it because they'll think of it as a fraud or fake as well. The previous value, taking into consideration condition, will be even more diminished as far as most are concerned.

If you want it to look nice when you take it to the range, you'll worry every minute about putting that first scratch on it. Cleaning it after some range time will be torturously slow and painstaking. You'll never be able to put it in the hand of a neophyte and let them shoot a piece of history. That history will be lost on a polishing belt and chemical bath. Besides, you'll be worrying about wear.

These classic firearms are classics because they've stood the test of time, not because they've avoided it. If it truly was a NIB gun then stash it away if you must, but it sounds like your gun has been used and enjoyed. If it's a money thing sell it and regroup your money. If not, shoot it and enjoy it and care for it so it can be passed on. But please, not as a fraud.

While being highly cognizant of the value that original condition provides for every vintage S&W firearm, as well as my role as a steward to retain any historical significance that could be associated with such weapons in my care, my criteria for making this decision goes beyond this rationale.

My research suggests that the ability to replicate 1950's era polishing and bluing with great (near 100%) accuracy is currently non-existent. If such a service were available, it would certainly change the equation for me.

The metal surfaces on the gun in question are undamaged, with no noticeable scratches or dings. The polish is almost mirror like. The 90% - 95% bluing on this weapon has a hue that is more blue than black, especially in direct sunlight.

The bottom line is that this revolver gives me much pleasure in it's current condition. It therefor stands to reason that it will give someone else similar enjoyment when it becomes time to pass it along.

When I am ready to experience pleasure of a pristine specimen of a Pre-Model 29, Pre-Model 27, Registered Magnum, etc., I accept that I will have to cough up the exorbitant price of ownership that such handguns now command.

I will also at least investigate as thoroughly as possible the capabilities of Glenrock Bluing, just to keep my options open.

I have certainly not refinished a lot of guns but I did have a few done. When I "hung up my spurs" after 20 years and stopped shooting cowboy action matches my two Colt SAA's blued finishes were beat up to say the least. Most guys who participated in SASS matches used Rugers, Umburties, etc. and kept their Colts in the safe at home. I bought the Colts to shoot and enjoy which I certainly did!

About 5 or 6 years ago I brought them up to Colt and had them refinished with the Royal Blue as they had left the Factory in the 80's with. I have to say that Colt did an OUTSTANDING job on them and they now look better than they did when new! Since I will NEVER sell them I could care less if I "devalued" them but to me I have NEVER regretted re-doing them and would do so again in a heart beat. Looking at the beat up finishes pained me much more than a factory refinish They now are my pride and joy and yes I still shoot them. Not that I really have to explain myself, but they WERE refinished by Colt.

The other gun I had refinished was a Lever gun that I inherited. The bluing was so far gone off the barrel, magazine tube and lever that it was a full time job keeping them from turning brown. Again, since I will NEVER sell it I sent it to MGW and they also did a SUPERB reblue on it. While the gun was out being refinished I refinished the stock and fore-end myself. The finish that was originally there was flaking off and I did not want a beautiful reblued action in a beat up stock. I gently sanded the wood, repaired any faults and put about 10 coats of 100% Tung Oil on it. When the action came back I reassembled it and have been a very happy camper ever since. BTW the Rifle was made in 1946.

So there are my refinishes. Personally I do not like owning beat up guns but sometimes when they are used every week, shot tens and tens of thousands of times and do get ugly. Since these guns are NOT investments but for pure enjoyment I am not concerned in what the "experts" say, and when I am gone at least my kids will have some nice guns to hand down to their kids (assuming guns are not out-lawed).

If I purchased a S&W Registered Magnum, a SAA that belonged to Wyatt Earp, a gun used in WWl or WWll then I would NEVER have it refinished as I do consider them to be "Historical Pieces". So that is my personal opinion and while others may not agree, it's a choice that each individual has to make.

First off, nobody can restore a S&W to just left the factory condition.
Aint going to happen. This reminds me of my neighbor that took a year to paint a 1954 Corvette. Forty coats of lacquer is a bit ridiculous. It sits under a car cover in a garage. Enjoy.

I've been through this drill numerous times in my life and gave up on refinishing guns when ever possible.
A gun can only be original once. It don't matter who does your refinishing, it will come back looking.........refinished, not original.
There are times where a gun's finish can be ruined by a flood or poor storage, and in those cases maybe a refinishing is the only option.

First off, nobody can restore a S&W to just left the factory condition.
Aint going to happen.

And that's the bottom line, at least for Carbonia-blued vintage S&Ws. Unless a gun left the factory relatively recently, a truly 100% authentic restoration in no longer in the cards.

chief38:
I have a case very similar to yours. I bought a Colt SAA new in 1979 for $329.99. I immediate had it engraved in a deeply cut old west scroll style, for which the case colors on the frame first had to be removed. The firearm was decently re-blued after the work, including the frame, but I was never quite satisfied.

Finally, last year, I returned it to Colt and they applied their high polish Royal Blue finish, and color casehardened the frame and hammer. The result is a gorgeous piece, as were yours. I consider this to be a true factory refinish because the original manufacturer performed the work using materials and methodologies germane to the era during which the firearm was originally produced. If I had gone with Turnbull (whose case colors now closely match those currently turned out by Colt) and their charcoal bluing process, the results would not have been "period correct".

And were I ever to sell this SAA (which I won't), I might not recoup every penny of the restoration cost - but I certainly do not consider this gun "devalued" in any way.

However, there is a heck of a difference between circa 1980s 3rd generation Colt SAAs and pre-model S&Ws.